The staff at the Smithville Public Library was recently recognized by the Smithville City Council for a grant and recognition by the Public Library Association for standing up against censorship.
The prestigious award was given to the library after a recent controversial reading series called “Let’s Talk About It: Muslim Journeys series,” that upset a few in town who complained to city and school officials for bringing the provocative reading series to Smithville and even prompted someone to take a couple of copies of the books and post to a social media site the reading material was not going to be returned.
“We do respect people’s opinions about what they consider offensive, and we respect that it is a parenting decision as to what folks will allow their children to read, but we do not expect that because some people find a book offensive that we must keep everyone from the opportunity to read it,” said Judy Bergeron, the library director.
Bergeron said some people were visibly angry and made the staff nervous when they came into the library to confront someone about the options available, but ultimately the staff, city and Smithville ISD officials all held firm on their decision to allow the book to remain on the shelves and as part of an Advanced Placement Geography course being offered at Smithville High School.
Staffers said they felt anxious, feared for their safety and lost sleep over the ordeal although Bergeron said no one quit.
The Gordon M. Conable Award honors a library that has demonstrated a commitment to intellectual freedom and the Library Bill of Rights. Bergeron said the Public Library Association does not give out the award annually, only when there is a library deserving of the award, so she considers the recognition especially uplifting after the tumultuous past few months. Other past award winners include the Scottsdale, Ariz. Public Library and Melanie Miller, a former director of the Hays, Kan. Public Library.
“It’s very rewarding. It’s just kind of nice for someone to notice you were standing up for something,” said Erikka Hillard, assistant librarian.
Stella Pease, another assistant librarian, said she wouldn’t go so far as to say she felt hatred from those against the program but she was upset, although by the end of the series she did say many people had a different outlook on the culture, including herself
“I’m hoping in the future that we do book discussions on a lot of different cultures. The community, as a whole, does see all this is trying to do is educate. It opened my eyes to what a lot of people go through for something we take for granted. On the whole it was very good and I’m looking forward to the next ones,” Pease said.
The discussion started in September after the library won a grant from The American Library Association (ALA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to get the series, which included books by five authors and three DVDs. After the group read each book, a scholar from one of the local universities would come in and discuss what they had read. They also looked at Muslim culture, music, history, religion and geography through fiction and non-fiction along with demonstrations.
Many people were upset with a book, “The Country of Men” by Hirsham Matar, which had two pages that included a scene where a young boy walks in on his parents after they’ve had sexual intercourse. Parents and members of the community were concerned the book was not age-appropriate but the school said the book was appropriate for those taking an Advanced Placement level course. According Bergeron, over 100 people attended the book discussion, led by scholar Amina Zarrugh from the University of Texas- Austin, and of that number about 30 were not supportive of the program.
Former Smithville City Manager Tex Middlebrook paid a visit to the library after some community members stopped into his office to inform him of the series. Bergeron said he felt there were other books being offered with similar or more controversial content, including the National Book Award winner in 2012, Fifty Shades of Grey, which is essentially a romance novel.
The controversy was discussed during the elections and at school and city meetings and there was even some discussion of hiding the award when the library first received it.
“Jill Strubbe [the city’s grant writer] and I discussed it and we expected some push back, but that same resistance opened the discussion. Some said we brought hatred to the community. I think we opened it up for discussion,” Bergeron said.
Bergeron said that the library has all 10 of the most banned books from this years banned book list.
The library has other discussion series’ called the “Let’s Talk About It: America” on its shelf from a grant it received when it first opened and a Judeo/Christian series. Bergeron said the America series might be the next discussion series for the library or they could use the $1,500 grant award to purchase another series or computers for the staff.
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